The Organ

The pipe organ at the Jesuit Church of the Sacred Heart in Edinburgh was designed by Tom Duncan and built in 1971 by Harrison and Harrison of Durham for St John’s Episcopal Church in Perth. It was moved to Edinburgh in 2013 and rebuilt by Forth Pipe Organs. The work was completed and the organ revoiced by Harrison’s in 2018.

It is a fine example of the neo-classical pipe organs being constructed in the 1960s and 1970s in the UK. The instrument has two manuals and pedals with electrical-pneumatic action. The Pedal division is situated above the Sanctuary in the apse on the south side; while the Great and Swell divisions are situated on the north side.

The organ is used in the Sacred Liturgy both to accompany singing and to contribute from the liturgical repertoire for organ. Music for organ can be heard at the Sunday 10.30am Mass. It is also used for occasional concerts and recitals.

We welcome visiting organists who would like to play the organ and organ enthusiasts who would like to hear the instrument and find out more.

Our organist is Nicky Fraser ARCO.

Our associate organist is Andre Theng.

For more information, please contact us.

Dr John Kitchen MBE FRCO, Edinburgh University and City Organist, writes:

We are fortunate in Edinburgh to have a remarkably wide variety of styles of organ in our churches and public buildings.  Pipe organs come not only in all sizes, from just one or two stops to over 100 and more; they also reflect many different styles, different eras in the history of the instrument and ever-changing ideas of what an organ should sound like.

For historical reasons, we have very few organs in Edinburgh (or indeed in Scotland) which date from before the 19th century, although we do have three 18th-century chamber organs.  Most organs in Scotland were built from the later 19th century up to the present day. Some (such as the 1880 ‘Father’ Willis in the former St Stephen’s Church) are virtually unaltered from the day they were built, others (such as the contemporary 1879 ‘Father’ Willis in St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral and or the Hope-Jones of 1890 in the University’s McEwan Hall) have been many times rebuilt and remodelled, reflecting changing fashions and so coming down to us with altered character. 

We also have a number of relatively new organs - people often quite wrongly imagine that no-one builds new pipe organs these days.  Here in Edinburgh, the instruments in St Mary’s Metropolitan Cathedral, Greyfriars Kirk, St Giles’ Cathedral, Canongate Kirk, St Andrew’s and St George’s West, Palmerston Place Church and the university’s Reid Concert Hall have all been built since 1970. Although a few of these incorporate pipework of earlier instruments, they are all in effect new organs.

To this representative portfolio of instruments must be added that now housed in the Jesuit Church of the Sacred Heart in Edinburgh, where it was installed by Forth Pipe Organs and completed by Harrison and Harrison in 2018.  It is a fine example of the neo-classical style of organ being constructed in the 1960s and 1970s in the UK.  

Neo-classical organs resulted from what is known as the Orgelbewegung, a movement which began in Germany in the 1920s and gradually moved through Europe, to the USA and to the UK.  This movement sought to correct the perceived excesses of Romantic organs with what was considered to be their heavy and ponderous tone, and their misguided attempts to emulate the sounds of orchestral instruments.  The Edinburgh organ which best reflects this style is that in the Usher Hall, built in 1914 and unaltered to this day.  Neo-classical organs sought to return to the sounds of the 18th century, the better to play the music of J.S. Bach and earlier repertoire.  Some new music of the 1960s and 70s was also inspired by their clear and direct tone qualities, including liturgical choral music of the period.  Throughout the country, many Romantic organs were rebuilt (and some spoiled) by attempts to redesign them in a style which reflected neo-classical ideals.   Intriguingly, there are notable instances where such organs are today being returned to their previous states in order to regain an integrity which it is felt has been lost; notable examples are the organs of Canterbury Cathedral and York Minster, both recently rebuilt by the renowned firm of Harrison and Harrison of Durham.

What gives the Sacred Heart organ its special character, and indeed a unique place in Edinburgh, is that it was built as a completely new instrument in neo-classical style.   It was designed by Thomas G Duncan and constructed in 1971 by Harrison and Harrison for St John’s Episcopal Church in Perth. Mr Duncan was for many years organist in Holy Trinity Church, St Andrews, where he had the large organ there rebuilt in neo-classical style in the 1960s and 70s; he was also involved in the remodelling of several other instruments.  But the organ now in the Sacred Heart Church was an original conception and not a remodelling.  This gives it a special integrity.

Its sound  is bright, clear and well-balanced with everything in proportion, and nothing excessive.  It has two manuals and pedals (II/P) with electro-pneumatic action and a detached console. The pedal division is situated above the sanctuary in the apse on the south side, while the great and swell divisions are situated on the north side.  This favourable position allows the sound unimpeded egress directly into the sanctuary, enhanced by a generous acoustic which gives the sound a fine bloom without excessive reverberation. The organ and the space are perfectly complementary. 

Pedal
1 Gedackt Pommer 16’
2 Principal 8’
3 Gedackt 8’
4 Nachthorn 4’
5 Mixture II
6 Posaune 16’
7 Trumpet 8’

Great
8 Principal 8’
9 Rohr Flute 8’
10 Octave 4’
11 Super Octave 2’
12 Sesquialtera II
13 Mixture IV-V
14 Scharf III
15 Trumpet 8’
Tremulant

Swell
16 Gedackt 8’
17 Salicional 8’
18 Koppel Flute 4’
19 Gemshorn 2’
20 Larigot 11/3’
21 Cymbel III
22 Dulzian 16’
23 Trompette 8’
Tremulant

Couplers
Swell to Pedal
Swell to Great
Swell octave to Great
Swell suboctave to Great
Swell octave
Swell suboctave
Swell unison off
Great to Pedal
Swell octave to Pedal

Accessories
6 pistons to Swell
5 pistons to Great
5 pistons to Pedal
20 memory levels
Reversibles for Sw-Gt, Gt-Pd, Sw-Pd
Great and Pedal combinations coupled
Pedal Cancel
General Cancel